Probe underway after Dept of Basic Education website hack

The Department of Basic Education says an investigation is underway to establish the source of its website hack.

On Wednesday evening, the department announced that its website had been hacked and grisly images of decapitated corpses, some of which were children, had been posted on the landing page.

A message posted on the website shows what appears to be a religious motive, as the hackers posted a message which read: "Hacked by Team System DZ. A message to the government, the American people and the rest of the world. Is this the humanity that you claim, or is life irrelevant to Muslims? Do not imagine that these actions against Muslims will pass you and we will forget what you did to the Arab and Muslim peoples all over the world. I love Islamic State."

The department has distanced itself from the images and the message posted on the website.

“We distance ourselves from the brutal images that incite hatred and violence. We also condemn such acts in the strongest terms,” the department said.

The department, working together with the State Information and Technology Agency that is responsible for website security systems, is dealing with the hack and trying to reclaim the website.

The hunt for a gang that stormed a police station in Ngcobo in the early hours of Wednesday morning and killed five police officers as well as an off-duty soldier continued on Thursday with authorities calling on the public for leads that can help in their investigations...